J.F. Peterson

J.F. PetersonThe Gestatory, fiction, March 1, 2009The Spider and Contrabass, fiction, Sept 1, 2008A Literary Agent's Lament, fiction, December 1, 2008

Get to know J.F...

Birthdate? December 28, 1970

When did you start writing? After seeing Mom cry when I shared Flowers for Algernon with her. I was twelve.

When and what and where did you first get published? Around 1990, I published some poems in a student-run publication at Brandeis University called, I think, Laurel Moon.

Why do you write? The best speculative fiction writing gives us a sense of how things could or should be, either in this world or one created entirely by the author. I want to write stories that deliver readers to that place of dreams and aspiration.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Science fiction encourages us to think of what we can make of this world, and it's the only genre that focuses on the interaction between ourselves and our technology. I think that's a powerful place to write from, allowing the author to bring the reader visualizations of the world to come, or as it might have been. Fantasy allows us to walk in worlds disparate from our own, and for the author to portray how we thinking creatures could be given different circumstances. These different approaches to both genres allow a writer to portray the philosophies and ideals of our species in unique settings, and I enjoy writing in them both.

Who is your favorite author? Jack Vance, a master of both science fiction and fantasy.

Your favorite story? Tolkien wrote a classic with Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm one of those odd ducks who remembers the lyrics to Tolkien's songs and who constructed melodies so I could sing them.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? In this life, there can be joy and purpose, even--and perhaps especially--if hope and happiness are lacking.

Do you blog? No.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Wanted, dead or alive. Actually, I'd rather have my life, and any work left behind, be my epitaph.